THz技术在农产品/食品品质检测中的应用

Research Progress of Terahertz Wave Technology in Quality Measurement of Food and Agricultural Products

农产品/食品的质量和品质问题越来越受人们关注。探索实际可行的农产品/食品的无损检测与品质评估技术正在成为研究热点。太赫兹(THz)辐射是位于中红外和微波波段之间的一段电磁波,具有非常重要的科学研究和应用价值。长期以来由于缺乏可行的THz波产生方法与探测手段,该波段相关领域的研究滞缓。THz光谱传感和成像技术是THz波的两个主要应用技术。THz光谱检测技术作为一种新型检测技术能够获得传统检测无法获得的信息。近十几年来,THz波用于来研究固、液、气相等各种物质的光电特性、分子内部振动和组成信息,在生物分析、医疗诊断、安全检测、环境控制等领域,THz技术显示出广阔的应用前景。文章介绍了THz波的主要性质、THz波检测技术的特点,论述了THz技术在农产品、食品质量与品质检测中的最新进展及其应用的潜力。

The quality concern of food and agricultural products has become more and more significant. The related technologies for nondestructive measurement or quality control of food products have been the focus of many researches. Terahertz （THz） radiation, or THz wave; the least explored region of the spectrum, is the electromagnetic wave that lies between mid-infrared and microwave radiation, which has very important research and application values. THz spectroscopy and THz imaging technique are the two main applications of THz wave. During the past decade, THz waves have been used to characterize the electronic, vibrational and compositional properties of solid, liquid and gas phase materials. Recently, THz technology has gained a lot of attention of researchers in various fields from biological spectral analysis to bio-medical imaging due to its unique features compared with microwave and optical waves. In the present paper, the properties of THz wave and its uniqueness in sensing and imaging applications were discussed. The most recent researches on THz technology used in food quality control and agricultural products inspection were summarized. The prospect of this novel technology in agriculture and food industry was also discussed.